Fire near historic Norway town

Contrary to what some headlines blared, almost all of the historic village of Laerdalsoyri, Norway — which has several well-preserved wooden houses from the 18th century — escaped the reaches of a large fire in the adjacent modern town of Laerdal on Jan. 18. Six or seven buildings of historic value were among the 35 that burned. A hundred people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

The Borgund Stave Church and other tourist sites in the area were not affected by the fire.